Alkoxides from alkenes

Ethers are prepared from alkyl halides by the treatment of metal alkoxide. This is known as Williamson ether synthesis (see Sections 4.3.6 and 5.5.2). Williamson ether synthesis is an important laboratory method for the preparation of both symmetrical and unsymmetrical ethers. Symmetrical ethers are prepared by dehydration of two molecules of primary alcohols and H2SO4 (see Sections 4.3.7 and 5.5.3). Ethers are also obtained from alkenes either by acid-catalysed addition of alcohols or alkoxymercuration-reduction (see Section 5.3.1). 

To obtain ethylenedithiols, the main options described in Scheme 1 are available. Vicinal dithio-ethers, which can be prepared from cis-dichloro- or dibromo-alkenes or from alkenes through a stepwise synthesis, can be cleaved to produce dithiols (Route A). Ethylenedithiocarbonates can be prepared by several well-established procedures and by some less general ones as well. The ethylenedithiocarbonates are central intermediates for many dithiolene syntheses and for syntheses of derivatives of the electron donor tetrathiafulvalene (TTF), which has been intensively investigated in the past decade. This has widened the synthetic possibilities for ethylenedithio-carbonates. Their cleavage by alkali metal hydroxides or alkoxides produces salts of ethylenedithiolates (Route B). As an alternate route, their photolysis with loss of CO and generation of a dithioketone has been explored. ... 

Whether the formation of alkene 3 proceeds directly from alkoxide 4 or via a penta-coordinated silicon-species 6, is not rigorously known. In certain cases—e.g. for /3-hydroxydisilanes (R = SiMes) that were investigated by Hrudlik et al —the experimental findings suggest that formation of the carbon-carbon bond is synchronous to formation of the silicon-oxygen bond ... 

When the reactant is of the form ZCH2Z, aldehydes react much better than ketones and few successful reactions with ketones have been reported. However, it is possible to get good yields of alkene from the condensation of diethyl malonate, CH2(COOEt)2, with ketones, as well as with aldehydes, if the reaction is run with TiCU and pyridine in THF. In reactions with ZCH2Z, the catalyst is most often a secondary amine (piperidine is the most common), though many other catalysts have been used. When the catalyst is pyridine (to which piperidine may or may not be added) the reaction is known as the Doebner modification of the Knoevenagel reaction. Alkoxides are also common catalysts. 

After successful installation of the first two stereocenters, our attention was focused on elaboration of the terminal alkene in 64 (Scheme 6.9). Treatment with disiamylborane followed by oxidative workup afforded primary alcohol 65 in good yield (70-85 %). A side product containing a mixture of two diastereomers (66) was also observed and resulted from conjugate addition of the alkoxide formed during basic workup onto the unsaturated ester. Maintaining the temperature at 0 °C by a slow, dropwise quench during the oxidative workup was necessary to minimize the amount of the undesired cyclization product (66). Subsequent oxidation of the primary alcohol 65 using Dess-Martin periodinane [28] and a Pinnick oxidation afforded carboxylic acid 67 [29]. 

The generation of the dichloromethane under phase-transfer conditions may be facilitated by the addition of a trace of ethanol. Alkoxide anions, generated under the basic conditions, are more readily transferred across the two-phase interface than are hydroxide ions (see Chapter 1). Although this process may result in the increased solvolysis of the chloroform, it also produces a higher concentration of the carbene in the organic phase and thereby increases the rate of formation of the cyclopropane derivatives from reactive alkenes. 

Tab. 10.8 summarizes the application of rhodium-catalyzed allylic etherification to a variety of racemic secondary allylic carbonates, using the copper(I) alkoxide derived from 2,4-dimethyl-3-pentanol vide intro). Although the allyhc etherification is tolerant of linear alkyl substituents (entries 1-4), branched derivatives proved more challenging in terms of selectivity and turnover, the y-position being the first point at which branching does not appear to interfere with the substitution (entry 5). The allylic etherification also proved feasible for hydroxymethyl, alkene, and aryl substituents, albeit with lower selectivity (entries 6-9). This transformation is remarkably tolerant, given that the classical alkylation of a hindered metal alkoxide with a secondary alkyl halide would undoubtedly lead to elimination. Hence, regioselective rhodium-catalyzed allylic etherification with a secondary copper(l) alkoxide provides an important method for the synthesis of allylic ethers. 

Like V(V), Nb(V) as well as Ta(V) alkoxides do catalyze the epoxidation of alkenes with TBHP as catalyst, but reaction times are long and yields are low due to side reactions (e.g. formation of (ferf-butylperoxo)cyclohexene as major product from cyclohexene °). Grubbs and coworkers and Sala-Pala and coworkers could show that free and polymer-supported Cp2NbCl2 in the presence of hydrogen peroxide shows low or no catalytic activity for the epoxidation of alkenes (with cyclohexene only 36% epoxide selectivity). 

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